By TIM YOVICH

By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HESTNUTS ROASTING ON an open fire was just one of the holiday scenes visitors noticed Saturday as they streamed into Lanterman's Mill at Mill Creek Park.
"Olde Fashioned Christmas at the Mill" continues today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with craft demonstrations, unique holiday gifts for sale, a Victorian Christmas display and folk music.
Some people said they visited the falls Saturday just to snap a photo of the falling water with its large ice formation.
Christmas spirit
"It's a good way to start off Christmas," said Anita Delsignore of Youngstown's West Side as she strolled around the inside of the mill looking at crafts.
"I don't think people appreciate the beauty of Mill Creek," she added.
Delsignore took advantage of the visit to purchase a live evergreen decoration for the front door of her home.
"It was a good buy, too -- $22," she said.
Jennifer DeFrance of Ravenna was with her family from Vienna.
"It's a nice way to kick off the holiday season," DeFrance said, calling attention to the pleasant music and smell of warm apple cider.
Her father, John DeFrance, walked around the mill with special interest. He worked on the mill restoration project in the early 1980s.
"It's a living museum," the architect said of the mill, noting it was once a building to simply store boats.
Crafts on display
Some of the handiwork of the crafters includes woodcarving, lace-making and metalworking.
David White, 37, of New Castle, Pa., has been carving wood since he was 9, becoming interested while in a 4-H group that offered woodworking.
It takes him two to six hours to carve a Christmas tree ornament. Ornaments, along with wooden flower arrangements that resemble silk flowers, are on sale.
When White isn't carving wood, he operates White-Rannard Woodsmiths in Pulaski, Pa.
The company makes cabinets and wood art and restores antique furniture. One of the pieces he restored dates to 1659.
Lace and scents
One of the veteran crafters at the show is Maureen Kandray, with her Tatted Heirlooms and Common Scents. She has opened the holiday season at the mill for the past 15 years.
Kandray and her husband used to operate Gabriel's restaurant on Market Street in Youngstown, a South Side spot known for its food and music.
Wanting to stay at her Boardman home to rear her children 25 years ago and take advantage of her art degree from Youngstown State University, she got involved in tatting, or lace-making, and developing scents from dried herbs and flowers.
One of her best sellers is a bedpost bag, a delicate handmade lace container filled with scent.
"Squeeze it every night for good dreams," she said the tale goes.
When Kandray isn't involved in crafts, she's teaching art at Cardinal Mooney High School or watching her son, Will, the kicker on Mooney's football team in competition for a state championship this year.
yovich@vindy.com